PISCATAWAY — While agreeing to amend and upgrade one of the lesser charges in the case against a former Rutgers University student charged with spying on his gay roommate, a Superior Court judge said today he was unlikely to sentence the defendant to jail time should he be convicted of that criminal count.

Speaking at the start of jury selection in the trial against Dharun Ravi, Judge Glenn Berman in New Brunswick reminded prosecutors about the failure to notice that the count, hindering apprehension, is a second-degree, not third-degree crime as stated in the indictment.

Berman caught the mistake himself in a January pretrial hearing, but today denied a defense motion to dismiss the charge altogether, saying the facts of the allegation remain unchanged. Ravi already faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the top counts of bias intimidation, a hate crime.

The second-degree hindering charge comes with a possible prison term — third-degree does not — but Berman advised Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure that "you better give me a compelling reason why" a jail term should be imposed if Ravi is convicted of that crime.

"Do you think it’s fundamentally fair for him to pay for an error made by the state?" the judge asked.

Ravi is charged in a 15-count indictment with bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and hindering apprehension for using a web camera to remotely spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, who was in an intimate embrace with another man in Ravi’s and Clementi’s Busch Campus dorm room in September 2010.

Clementi, 18, committed suicide days later by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. The case launched a national debate on cyber bullying and gay teen suicide and has attracted journalists from around the country.

Attorneys on both sides spent today culling the pool of prospective jurors from 188 to 85. The remaining prospective jurors will appear in court today for in-person questioning. Berman said he may impanel 16 jurors to compensate for any possible problems related to the intense media coverage that is expected.

Ravi, clad in a dark suit, sat quietly throughout the day-long proceeding. He was flanked at the defense table by his attorney, Steven Altman, and two other attorneys, including a jury consultant.

Ravi’s father and two family friends were also in the courtroom, but did not comment.

Berman has set an aggressive pace, telling the prosecution and the defense they should be prepared to give opening statements today, and possibly even witness testimony for the prosecution. McClure told the judge she intended to bring 23 witnesses to the stand and that her case may stretch three weeks.